DEMOCRATS SPLIT OVER FILNER HARASSMENT ACCUSATIONS

Central committee meets tonight to decide stance

However, former City Councilman Carl DeMaio, a Republican, received 47 percent of the vote in losing to Filner in November. He’s considered a potential mayoral candidate, even though he is currently running for Congress.

A recall effort is slowly emerging, poised to move from a weeks-old Facebook page established before last week’s news conference by former Filner supporters Donna Frye and two attorneys outlining harassment allegations. The recall proponent, Michael Pallamary, organized a successful recall of Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt more than two decades ago and is leading a “Recall Recruitment Rally” on Friday outside City Hall.

If a recall is launched, backers have to gather 101,597 signatures from registered city voters in 39 days with a 30-day extension allowed if short of the required number. The county’s Republican Party says it’s staying out of a recall effort so far and Democratic leaders haven’t been talking it up.

Among Democrats who want Filner to go is Christine Forester of La Jolla, a wealthy supporter of President Barack Obama who helped raise more than $500,000 for his 2012 re-election.

She wants Fletcher to replace Filner, saying the former congressman is too distracted, and the city is becoming too notorious because of the allegations. Fletcher finished third in the mayoral election, running as an independent after resigning from the Republican Party. He has since re-registered as a Democrat.

“We hope that if and when Bob Filner decides to take the next step, we can draft Nathan,” Forester said, adding she hopes a recall is avoided.

“Everyone is entitled to have their day in court, but given the number of allegations that seem to be corroborated by a number of different parties, I don’t think it would be wise to prolong this and go through that. It’s now all over the national news and we should not be garnering headlines with scandals like this.”

The women accusing Filner have remained unnamed, but they’ve told their stories to prominent Democrats and former supporters of the mayor.

The scandal element of the Filner saga was underscored Wednesday in national headlines and on Twitter and other social media sites after the National Women Veterans Association of America withdrew a “Lifetime Leadership Award” it planned to give Filner — but is keeping him on its agenda as a keynote speaker when it gathers in San Diego Aug. 30-31. That prompted numerous calls for the group to scrub Filner entirely from its meeting.

Another national women’s group, UltraViolet, called on Filner to resign Wednesday. “No woman should face the threat of sexual harassment or assault in the workplace,” UltraViolet co-founder Nita Chaudhary said. “Events like this create aggressive and unfriendly workplaces for women that in the end drive many out of government and politics when we desperately need more women in those spaces.”

The National Organization for Women’s San Diego political arm and the San Diego League of Conservation Voters issued similar calls on Tuesday.

Filner kept out of the public eye on Wednesday. He was scheduled to appear with members of the Metro United Methodist Urban Ministry group to announce a $7.5 million U.S. Department of Labor grant for youth programs in high crime and poverty sections of the city.